Columbia Inferno
The Columbia Inferno are an ECHL team based in Columbia, South Carolina. They played their home games at the Carolina Coliseum. The Inferno first took the ice in 2001 as an expansion team after a group of physicians dubbed the "Hockey Docs" sought to purchase a team. While officially unaffiliated in their first season, the Inferno soon reached a working relationship with the Manitoba Moose that turned into a formal affiliation the following season. On July 10, 2006, the team announced the end of their affiliation with the Manitoba Moose (AHL) and Vancouver Canucks (NHL) On July 12, 2006, the team announced a new affiliation with the Toronto Marlies (AHL) and the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL). The team has been granted voluntary suspension for the 2008–09 season as the team was told that it could not be guaranteed a lease with the Carolina Coliseum in time to meet league requirements, but planned on returning to action in the 2009–10 season but this did not come to be. The team was waiting for a new facility to be built for them however the economy caused any arena not to advance beyond the proposal stage. The team does still have a facebook page; but, the ECHL website does not list the team on the website anymore as even an inactive member. Arena Issues According to reports there were plans in the work to build a $30 million 6,500 seat arena near the Columbia Metro Airport in Lexington County dating back to at least eartly 2006. The Carolina Coliseum was heavily modified to fit in an ice sheet and was smaller than regulation size even with seats having to be removed at the ends of the arena. Poor ticket sales were cited as one of the reasons for the teams departure from the Coliseum. A second proposal was also in the works for an arena to be built in the suburb of Irmo. These plans collapsed as a result of the recession. Across the street from the Carolina Coliseum, the Carolina Center (now Colonial Life Arena) was opened in November of 2002. The facility was built to host ice hockey games; but, due to legal issues with the funding for the facility it has yet to host an ice hockey game. The team's facebook page posted on June 29, 2014 that the site near the airport that was hoped to be their new home was now going to be built into the Saluda Shoals Park's Athletic Complex. There is a facility that the University of South Carolina's club hockey program plays in Irmo callled the the Plex Indoor Sports and Ice. However this facility does not have much in the way of permant seating and would not be an option to for the team. Coaching history Season-by-season record ''Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes'' Team captains *2006-2007 **C - Chris Thompson **C - Brad Ralph ***A - Mike Vellinga ***A - Tyson Marsh ***A - Jeff Miles ***A - Brad Ralph *2005-2006 **C - Jay Legault ***A - Leon Hayward ***A - Derek Eastman *2004-2005 **C - Trevor Demmans ***A - Brad Ralph ***A - Matt Ulwelling ***A - Kevin Hopke *2003-2004 **C - Barrie Moore ***A - Dennis Vial ***A - Sean Owens *2002-2003 **C - Barrie Moore ***A - Dennis Vial ***A - Corey Hessler NHL alumni *Dennis Vial *Alex Auld *Eric Boulton *Alexandre Burrows *Fedor Federov *Robert McVicar External links * Columbia Inferno Official Homepage * Columbia Inferno Booster Club * ECHL Official Website * Martial Image Photography, Official Game Photographer of the Columbia Inferno Category:ECHL Teams Category:American ice hockey teams